Brink of Death
by Crazysnakelover
Summary: Lost, alone, and blind in a scary place.  Roxas must use his remaining senses to find a way out.  But will he make it in time?  Halloween story, most likely better then it sounds. Disclaimer, I dont own Kingdom Hearts.


~Sensory Deprivation ~

The Brink of Death

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Roxas couldn't see a thing. His eyes were open, but all he saw was blackness. Had he gone blind, or was it just really dark? A shiver ran though his body; racking his small frame. The stone ground beneath him felt like ice under his bare skin. The boy had been stripped down to his pants after being search, and was now chained to the floor. There were tight shackles on his wrists and ankles, and a large metal cuff was placed around his neck connected to a heavy ball chain. He could barely lift his head an inch without being choked.

If you thought what he was feeling was bad, it was nothing compared to what he was hearing. Loud growls and roars echoed throughout the camber he laid in. Every so often he'd hear a loud terrified scream, which would turn into tortured screech. This would be followed by crunching noises, as Roxas suspected the sounds were the result of some monster eating there victim. This suspicion made him wonder when it would be his turn.

The boy couldn't even tally up how long he'd been lying there. It felt like months or even years, though it couldn't have been more than a few days. It's not like it was all that easy to comprehend time, in his situation. All he could do for hours on end was too lie around listening to the mysterious sounds around him, until he passed out. He'd often wake up to eerie noises, like soft footsteps that couldn't have been more then a few feet from where he laid, and low ragged breathing near him. But every time he called out, silence was the only answer he received.

After passing out for what was probably the millionth time, he woke up to more then strange noises. Now he felt a presence was near him, like someone was sitting right next to where he laid. Could it be the monster that was eating its victims alive? Or was it something else.

"Hello? Who's there?" Roxas asked not really expecting anyone to answer. It was a frightful shock when something did.

A soft eerie but unmistakably male voice, unlike anything the blonde had ever heard before sleeked through the air. "It is I…" the iciness of the voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Who are you?" Roxas asked, his voice squeaking in fear. He wished that he could see whoever it was. The boy tried to turn his head and look, but the shackle around his neck prevented him from doing so.

"I am one of the many, spirits of the afterlife that dwell in this place…" the voice replied vaguely. Roxas could have sworn that the temperature of the room drop a few degrees.

"What do you want?"

"Your cell is open, why don't you escape…?"

Roxas's eyebrows burrowed inwards, was this guy blind also? How could he be, if he could see that his cell was open? "I'm kinda chained to the ground," a hint of venom tipped the blondes voice.

"Do you not possess a key that unlocks everything…?"

A chill that wasn't caused by the ice cold ground ran through the light wielder. How did he know that? "I need my hands to do that, but there chained up."

"What if they weren't?" the voice asked mysteriously. It was starting to make Roxas feel uneasy. "What if I told you that I could make them fall off?"

Roxas didn't trust this voice, any more then he'd trust a compulsive liar. It must be trying to lure him into a trap. And why not, he was very vulnerable laying there half naked, chained up, and blind. "I can't see anything, how could I find my way out?"

"You sound just like me…" the mysterious voice said. "I was once held in this cell, awaiting the same fate as you… I had a chance to escape also…" Goosebumps had formed all over Roxas's bare skin. The combination of the voices cold exterior, and the story he was telling put him on edge. The voice continued anyway. "I didn't take the chance, because I was blind also… I could have used the disability to aid me…"

Roxas wondered why he was being told this story, a sick feeling in his stomach said that he wouldn't like the ending. His mind begged him to ask the voice to stop, but no sound came forth. "You know what happened to me…?" the voice continued. "I was eaten alive by the monster… it started at my feet… I wasn't truly dead until my head was decapitated."

Roxas's stomach churned unpleasantly. That didn't sound like a very nice way to end, feeling yourself being eaten alive, until you're beheaded. "Why did you tell me this?" Roxas asked the voice, but was only answered by silence. "You there?"

No answer. Just silence. I figure way off in the black distance appeared out of nowhere, its naked pale skin standing out in the dark. Did this mean he had his sight back? The figure slowly started walking toward him, and an eerie feeling came over the light wielder. It looked like a boy, no older then himself. Blood was dripping off the boy in streams, from the chunks of flesh bitten out of him. Roxas's blood ran cold, as he realized the boy was looking familiar. Too familiar.

The boy stopped, just feet from where Roxas was laying. The Key of Destiny was greeted with the most horrifying site he'd ever seen. Dead blue eyes and dirt matted blonde hair. Roxas was staring at himself, bloody and half eaten alive. He opened his mouth, and let out a loud terrified scream. The shackles fell of his wrists, and the world went black again. For a moment he thought that he'd passed out again, or was dead. Then the ground vibrated beneath him. _THUD… THUD… THUD… GROWL!_ The monster was coming for him.

In a blind panic, Roxas raised his arm in the air. The cool metal of Oblivion, formed in his hand. After one swinging motion, the shackles fell from his ankles and neck. The boy jumped up and ran for his life, not caring that he couldn't see a thing. _THUD… THUD… THUD…_ the monsters heavy, ground shaking footsteps were getting closer. He could be running past its sight for all he knew.

Literally running blindly, and hoping that he wasn't going to run into any walls; Roxas let the adrenaline control his movements. He kept looking behind him, even though he knew it was a waste of effort. That fact that he couldn't see if the monster was following him or not only added to his fear. His foot collided with something lying on the ground, and he fell forward, landing on the stone ground hard. Roxas slid on his belly a few feet, before feeling the floor go down hill.

The rough, stone ground scraped and cut his bare chest as he slid down to the unknown. Roxas shielded his head with his arms, and winched as a sharp rock tore a gash in his chest. After what felt like forever, the cold floor leveled out and he slid to a halt. Roxas took several deep breaths trying to calm himself.

_ROAR! _

With a gasp, Roxas sat up as fear rushed down his spine. Whatever that monster was, it was angry. Probably found out that his dinner escaped. The boy started to scoot backward, until his back hit the chilly stone wall. His hand then found something round and smooth, almost the size of a kick ball. He picked it up, and started fingering it, not quite sure what it was. It was very smooth; his finger tips rolled over two large holes side by side each other, then a smaller hole underneath them. It wasn't until the pad of his thumb traced over what suspiciously felt like a tooth, that he realized it was a human skull.

With a shriek, Roxas tossed it aside, jumped to his feet and sidled the wall his back was against. A second loud roar from the monster brought him back to reality. Keeping one hand on the wall to guide him, the blonde hurried as quickly as he could. _THUD… THUD… THUD_. The monster was stalking him; searching for its prey, it made his hair stand on end. Roxas's nerves could barely stand the idea of the monster looking right at him, and not even knowing it. How he wished he could see. Then he remember what that "voice" said, "_I could have used the disability to aid me…_"

Axel once told him that when you lose a sense your other senses grow to take over it. But how could his other senses help him see again? Roxas mused over it, while following the stone wall. A yelp fell from his lips when the ground suddenly left him, and he went falling down to the unknown. His yell echoed off the walls until he finally hit what felt like a sticky net. The net bounced up in down like a trampoline, but it was so sticky that he couldn't move.

Roxas held his breath and listened. He could hear hazily breathing nearby. It sounded very strange, like nothing he'd ever heard before. Then another sound was picked up by his ears. _Tic-pop, tic-pop, tic-pop_. The cogs in his head went into overdrive as he tried to figure out what the sound was. Suddenly something large, stiff, and hairy grazed his bare side. A sticky net, strange breathing, what he figured was a large hairy leg, and strange footsteps. Roxas pieced them together, and guessed that it was a giant spider. The fear was so great that all the breath was taken from his lungs. A giant spider meant being wrapped up and eaten for dinner. Why was everything trying to eat him?

_HISSSS!_ He didn't have time to think about that. Roxas started struggling with all his might. But the web was too sticky, he couldn't get free. _SWISH!_ He could have sworn that he felt the stinger barely miss him. The boy was shaking uncontrollable, and then he managed to get one arm unstuck. Feverishly he tried to use his free arm to help unstick his other arm.

_Hiss-spit-spat!_ With all the strength he could muster, Roxas turned over feeling the breeze of the spider just barely miss him as it struck. _Snap!_ The blonde felt himself falling, still attached to the web. The web backsprang when it reached its limit, giving Roxas the feeling of being on a bungee cord. He sprang up and down several times until the weight of his body gave way from the sticky web.

Roxas fell a long way and eventually hit the ground. His head bounced off the stone floor hard, and felt the world start turning. He groaned loudly, while turning over onto his back trying to stay conscious. He was shaking uncontrollably; nerves still shot from narrowly escaping a giant spider. Once he felt that he could get up without losing his lunch the boy jumped up and took off running again. Being disoriented with a pounding headache, Roxas tripped over many things lying on the ground, and ran into a few walls, earning more then a few bruises.

When he felt like he was about to vomit, Roxas finally stopped to catch his breath. He was starting to regret his decision, to try and escape. What was he thinking? Being totally blind, and unaware of where he is. There's not even a small chance of escaping. He should have just waited to be eaten alive. It seemed to be his fate either way, he only just stalled it.

Roxas sank to the ground, and put his head between his knees. He was just going to sit and wait for the monster to come and eat him. _"Giving up all ready, I thought you were stronger then that."_

The light wielders head shot up with a gasp. That voice sounded familiar, though he couldn't place it. _"Come on Roxas, you can make it!"_

That sounded like Axel's voice, "Axel!" Roxas called out, relief washing over him. Maybe someone had finally come to rescue him.

"_Please Roxas, don't leave us!"_

The blonde stood up, "Axel I'm here! Where are you?" he called walking forward, and listening intently.

His ears picked up on a sound. Though it wasn't Axel's voice, it was more like a swishing whistle. It took a few seconds to figure out it was the wind. Wind would only be heard when coming in from the outside, and the outside had to be an exit. So if he followed the sound of the wind, he could find his way out. With that decided, Roxas quietly started walking again, using the wall to guide him. He kept his ears perked up, following the sound of the wind.

Suddenly the sound of haggard breathing caught his ears. On instinct he would have stopped and turn a different direction, but it was coming from the same direction as the wind sound, which was his escape. He continued on, following the sounds. Just as he entered a new area the fowl smell of blood, guts, and bad breath attacked his nostrils. The breathing sound was so loud, there was no doubt the monster was in the same room. Roxas froze, waiting for the sound that indicated the monster was charging toward him.

But it never came, this probably meant, it was guarding the exit. Waiting for him. Not sure what else to do, Roxas summoned his keyblade and pointed it in the direction of the breathing. The sound of light shooting from the keyblade was heard, followed by a loud shriek coming from the monster.

Silence

He heard nothing but silence. His closed eyelids felt heavy. After a brief struggle, he managed to open them, and was surprised to see not pitch black, but white. That was when every limb in his body started to ache, which made him let out an involuntary groan. "Roxas!"

That was Axel's voice; he looked in the direction of the voice, and saw his best friend sitting by his bed looking relieved. That was when he realized that he was in Vexen's lab. They must have came, and rescued him, "Axel!" the boy cried out happily.

"Thank Kingdom Hearts that you're awake," Axel said breathing a sigh of relief.

"…I can see again," that was the only thing Roxas could think to say.

"No duh you can see," Axel teased gently, ruffling his hair in a friendly manner.

"What happened?"

"You got really hurt on your last mission in Twilight Town, Vexen wasn't sure you were going to make it."

Twilight town? That couldn't be where he was, "What are talking about, I was captured and locked up, some monster was going to eat me-"

"Wow, easy there Rox, I have no idea what you're talking about," Axel said gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "We found out near the station plaza, pretty beat up. You've been on the brink of death the past few days."

Brink of death?

The red head ruffled his blonde spikes again, "Take it easy, I'll go tell Vexen that you're awake." Axel stood up and left the lab. Roxas just sat there gawking. Was it all a dream? Was that hellhole even real? Maybe he literally was on the brink of death.

The End

Thanks for reading.

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**Written for a contest on DeviantART posted it there a while ago, wanted to save it for Halloween here ;) I treid to make it scary but failed. Hope you were able to enjoy it anyway, its a story I actually proof read. I wanted to update "What Lies Beneath" today also, but couldnt find enough time and havent even started the next chapter. I would try to type it up today but I have to work all day long. Maybe I can post it late. **

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**


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